Janet McCarthy has been working with watercolour for more than twenty years.  By 2003, needing something different to do with the paint, she took an artistic personal styles course.  This course revolutionized her painting, moving from using the primary principles of texture and value to the principles of texture and colour, while developing a feel for the vignette format, vastly simplifying her work.

During the pandemic, McCarthy rediscovered her love of working with ink, and ink with watercolour have become her media of choice. Progress and time are changing the natural world around us, and her goal is to capture it, establishing a strong connection with the subject matter in her work.

“Colour and contrasting textures are what initially draws me to paint a subject,” says McCarthy, “but there is always so much more.  It is a wonderful thing when a two-dimensional image can make you imagine you feel the spray and thunder of a waterfall, sense the serenity of a clear mountain lake, or feel the healing power and truth in the stature of a buffalo. This is what I am endeavoring to do with my painting.”

The exhibit is on display at the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre, 5227 C&E Trail, until June 3rd. The Lacombe Performing Arts    Centre is open Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 3 pm. 

This article was written with files form the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre.